@EA_Blueberry I'm just gonna bump this again so that it stays on someone's mind how awful this is. A completely non-functioning feature. I pre-ordered this game because of the BAP overhaul. Its the only mode I really love and paid full price for the first time in eons to show that I support that. Well I will never be buying another one of these games again. Ever. There are mountains of obvious other bugs in this mode and other similar modes (offline modes that EA can't profiteer as hard on I guess). but lets focus in on secondary positions. So we are trying to get a sense here of whether or not this is a bug or just the worst design decision possible. Lets look at the facts of position selecting
1: forwards cannot 2nd D and D cannot 2nd forward
2: Wings are placed interchangeably on L or R depending on team openings regardless of which wing is their primary/secondary
3: a 1st or 2nd overall drafted center will play a season at least as a top line winger, until his overall surpasses either Zebanijad or Kopitar
4: A winger who's secondary is another wing will NEVER (I repeat, n-e-v-e-r) be played as a center
4a: A winger who'd secondary is center will NEVER (I repeat even louder N_E_V_E_R) be played as a center
5: Coaches set goals based on primary position roles, and you will be docked for not taking faceoffs
6: on that note: the only skill in the game (as a skater) that can only be trained by 1 position is faceoffs by center. So even if you play long enough to get your overall to 88+ at wing and actually get put at center, you'll be facing off against top line centers in the NHL with a 55-60 faceoff stat unless you dedicate training hours (needed to advance things like speed and balance) needlessly to a skill you can't even use until you're 88+ overall
7: You cannot play bad enough to be center. If you get yourself demoted to the 4th line, you can't play center at 4th. You can't play center at 3rd. you can only advance to being a top line winger for YEARS before maybe being allowed to be center.
8: A lower line center is more likely to replace the center on your line if they are injured than you unless you are on the 1st line
There are others but that covers the bulk of it. So the claim here is that this is not a bug that is being ignored but is actually on purpose. And that that purpose is to simulate realism. Lets talk realism point by point. Point 1: 2 of the most well-known position shifting players of the current era were Byfuglien and Burns, who both played foward and D. And yet I can't think of 1 top line in the league that would be looking to swap its right wing with its center. No team is built like that. but players do go from D to F and F to D. So on point 1 its entirely unrealistic. Bad start. Point 2: your cover player is ALEX OVECHKIN. I know EA doesn't care about the NHL games but good lord pretend like you know who is on your box. Ovi played 1 season out of 15 as a right wing. not his first, like his 7th from a weird stupid coach and everyone remembers it as a huge mistake. so if I'm meant to be making a legacy for myself like a realy 1st overall like ovi, in BAP, why can't I follow the trajectory of those same players? If I'm putting up hat tricks every game why am I on the wrong side? Unrealistic. Point 3: Ovi's rivals are Malkin and Crosby. 2 centers, drafted 1st overall and 2nd overall to THE SAME TEAM, who have played center their entire careers. So more real world examples from the real NHL showing that any chance of claiming this was for realism is a complete lie. Point 4: this is actually realistic. because center is a specialized role, it doesn't mean "a very good winger". Its almost like everything about the other positions is indicating something completely counter to your claim about center. Point 5: Do I even have to say it? That coach would be fired immediately for demoting a player for not doing something he didn't let the player even try to do. especially when that player is a 1st overall pick and that something is playing the correct position. Point 6: Please find me 1 example of a player who spends hours per week training faceoffs to play wing. top line wing. Please. 1. find me 1 player. I'll wait. Point 7: why is it that the game identifies that AI players have no issue being locked into the center role even on the bottom line, but I can't? Nic Dowd has more staying power as a 4th line C than I can as an 85 OA 1st overall player leading the league in scoring. cooooooooooool. and point 8: seriously?
So its either that something was made for realism that has no dimensions of realism to it. Or, and hear me out here, this is a bug. The feature is not functioning and should be fixed. How hard can it be to tweak the likelihood that you can play C? Or at least if you're going to lie to cover up for an obvious bug, make sure the cover player and that players lifelong rivals aren't high draft picks that slotted into their positions on day 1 and never moved. Because its like spray-painting "we're liars" on the cover of every game.
There, I'm done. With this stupid game and its future instances. I just had to say my piece after reading through these absolutely unacceptable BS replies covering for the failures of this game that blueberry is offering. 60 dollars that I would've been better off lighting on fire. Even just getting BAP up to like fifa levels of fun to play, if a bit thoughtless and annoying, would be worth the 60 bucks to me. This was the only reason I had a ps4, play everything else on PC. good to know I won't need a PS5.
